Live every day as if it were your last, for some day you are sure to be right!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

A Thousand Bucks Well Spent

Woo Hoo! The camp chair is finally out on the patio where it belongs, and I can now have people over to visit. Seriously--none of my friends have been here since I moved in. I had no place for anyone to sit, except for a couple of banquet chairs I picked up at Sam's Club awhile back. But my new furniture has finally arrived, and now I've got room for everybody.

Of course, it didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped. When I left the furniture store yesterday, I was nursing a mild case of buyer's remorse as I drove home. My wallet was lighter to the tune of nine-plus Benjamins, and when I got back to my apartment, I had nothing to show for it except a piece of paper. I was promised that it would be delivered at 9:00 am, so I got up early, fixed myself a pot of coffee, and waited. Around 9:20 or so, I got the inevitable call saying that the delivery guys wouldn't be here until 11:00.

Crap.

Having just cut through about a mile of the red tape of stupidity this past month with the cabinet fiasco, the investment account hoop-jumping, and my compromised debit card, I was in no mood for more of the same runaround.

But they were good for word, as at 11:01 (I noticed), I got a phone call asking me which building I was in--the delivery truck was at the front gate. But not only did they bring in my furniture, they unpacked it all, screwed on all the legs, set it up, brushed it off, and then took away the huge pile of discarded packing materials, and they did it all in less than a half an hour. Very impressive. I seriously expected that they would just drop it off in my living room, and I'd spend an hour or more moving it around, setting it up, and cleaning up the mess. But no--it was a pleasant experience all around, and well worth the delivery charge.

Here are a few pics of the furnished living room:

First of all, the thing is HUGE. It didn't look nearly as imposing in the showroom, but then again, the showroom was quite a bit bigger than my living room. And the chaise is every bit the same size as a twin bed--and it's quite comfy, too, so I'm sure I'll probably end up sleeping there every now and again.

That formerly vast empty space that was my living room is no longer vast nor empty. I'll need to do a little bit of shifting to make everything fit, because right now the bookcase is right up against the beer fridge. Oh, it still opens, just not all the way. If I move the guitar, the TV stand, and the fridge about three or four inches to the left, everything should fit. And yes, I still need to get a coffee table.

But now that it's here, the buyer's remorse is gone--it seems to be a good heavy piece of well-built furniture, and well worth the price. And I'm glad that my apartment no longer looks like it belongs to a poor college student, too.

Anyhow, now that it's here, I shall avail myself to its comforts, and spend the rest of the day switching back and forth between ESPN, the Military Channel, Discovery, and the History Channel. It's doubtful that I'll find the time to write anything else for the rest of the day...